An 81-year-old terminally ill pensioner, Edwin Morrison, has been sentenced to seven years in prison after strangling a 95-year-old woman and attempting to rob her in her own home in Little Hulton, Salford.
Morrison launched the brutal attack by demanding money and tying the victim’s hands with cable ties. During the assault, he struggled with the helpless pensioner, who begged him to stop, gasping that she could not breathe. Morrison cruelly told her to “shut up.”
The attack was foiled by the timely arrival of the victim’s mobile hairdresser, Michaela Nelson. Initially thinking Morrison was a friend, Michaela was shocked when the victim yelled for her to call the police. Morrison then threatened the hairdresser before fleeing the scene empty-handed.
Police quickly traced Morrison using his car movements and arrested him shortly after the incident.
It was revealed in court that Morrison had previously visited the victim while delivering her medication during his former job. He recalled that she tipped him just £2 – the “princely sum” he targeted during the robbery.
The court heard that Morrison was a gambler who regularly visited bookmakers before the attack in January 2026. Diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer in May 2024, he was also battling severe depression. Morrison shockingly claimed the robbery was to raise money for his funeral, although he had already paid funeral costs in 2024.
Judge Peter Horgan condemned the crime, saying, “Your involvement in this serious offence beggars belief but that will be of no comfort to your victims. You targeted a vulnerable, frail elderly lady you thought you could easily rob.”
The victim’s personal statement chillingly revealed, “I thought I was going to die.”
Detective Inspector Paul Davies praised the victim’s “resilience and strength” and hailed the “brave actions” of the mobile hairdresser for stopping further violence and swiftly calling the police.
Rob Lancaster from the Crown Prosecution Service added, “The swift prosecution and overwhelming evidence, including CCTV and forensic findings, shows how seriously we take these offences.”
Morrison’s lawyer claimed that his client acted out of “depression and despair” and intended the money for his partner, not himself. Describing his client’s behaviour as “altruistic rather than malicious,” the lawyer acknowledged the offence was “utterly selfish and self-centred” – a first in Morrison’s life.
Originally published by UKNIP.
